PORT ST. LUCIE — Dominic Smith claims his alarm didn’t go off, but he received a wake-up call Friday that likely won’t be forgotten.
The second-year first baseman, who is fighting for a spot on the Mets’ roster, was scratched from the lineup by manager Mickey Callaway as punishment for arriving late to work. Players were required to be present for an 8:45 a.m. meeting, and Smith was absent at the start.
Smith initially wouldn’t divulge the reason his name had been removed from the lineup against the Braves, but after a chat in the manager’s office, he addressed reporters at his locker and fessed up to his tardiness. Peter Alonso took Smith’s spot in the lineup.
“I was late a little bit today, and I am human, I apologize, and that is stuff that shouldn’t happen,” the 22-year-old Smith said. “It’s not acceptable in any locker room, whether it’s the Mets or wherever you play. It’s not acceptable, and I am not in [the lineup], and it’s something that won’t happen again.”
Asked if his alarm failed to sound, Smith said: “Yeah, my alarm didn’t go off for sure.”
The punishment was the first tangible evidence Callaway isn’t joking when he speaks of holding players accountable. The former Indians pitching coach has used the word “accountability” ad nauseam since camp opened.
Callaway said he was surprised a player who is fighting for a roster spot would have a problem with tardiness. Smith, who has battled weight problems, hit .198 in a six-week tryout with the Mets last season, prompting the club to sign veteran Adrian Gonzalez in the offseason.
Smith shed 30 pounds in the offseason, but it’s possible he will begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas regardless of how he performs in the Grapefruit League.
“It was a little shocking,” Callaway said, regarding Smith’s late arrival Friday. “He is trying to win a job, and it’s unfortunate.”
Smith said he gets the point.
“They shouldn’t give anybody a pass, and that is what [Callaway] has been preaching since Day 1,” Smith said. “Accountability. You have got to be accountable for yourself and your actions, and that is the only way the team will be great, and this is one of the things I have to hold myself accountable for and really own up to and really just let everybody know it won’t be an issue, a problem going forward.”
In his address to the full squad before Monday’s initial workout of the spring, Callaway said he listed showing up on time as the top priority. The manager was non-committal when asked if Smith would return to the lineup Saturday.
“[Smith] is a young guy,” Todd Frazier said. “He is still trying to understand the game. You can’t really have that kind of stuff, though. It’s one of those things where you would rather be overly early than five minutes later. He will learn from it, definitely, and you see he is not playing today, so he will be fine.
“You live and learn and move on. Nothing to be any big news, but one of those things where he made a big mistake, and we know it won’t happen again.”
Smith said he was on board with Callaway’s decision to punish him. To prove his desire, the first baseman mentioned the anxiety he had the night before as he contemplated Friday’s game.
“It’s the first day and you’re a little kid inside,” Smith said. “You just want to have fun, and sometimes you can’t get to sleep because you are up all night and it’s, ‘Tomorrow is the first day again. I have to show them what I can do.’ I am kind of disappointed in myself and with myself more than anything else.”